Saturday, November 20, 2010

TIME TO QUIT AHMAD

Going by what is happening in the final of the Sepak Takraw competition, there will be a vacancy in the STAM presidency, as reported by NST last week, article reproduced below.

While we await what he will do, let's also call for the resignations of all the officials, be it from NSC or the National Sports Associations who had projected gold at the Asian Games.

Read the report below...

SEPAK Takraw Association of Malaysia (STAM) president Datuk Ahmad Ismail will resign if the national team fail to win a gold medal in Guangzhou.

His statement has added pressure to the under-achieving team to deliver.

However, manager Datuk Awang Sham Amit believes Ahmad's drastic move is more to spur the players.

"Ahmad's comment shows he is dedicated and committed to the sport. We will make sure he stays as president. Our goal is to earn either the team or regu gold medal," said Awang at the Games Village in Guangzhou yesterday.

"We had eight months of solid training and also played friendly matches with Thai clubs. Our players managed to beat some of these highly rated clubs. It proves we are strong."

Awang said favourites Thailand are not invincible as they have named a young squad.

"Their new players may not be ready to shoulder the burden in the Asian Games. We could take advantage of this situation.

"However, our team also need to treat South Korea, China and Japan with respect as they are improving fast."

The team have recalled several old faces, including the trio of Mohd Futra Ghani, Mohd Normanizam Ahmad and Mohd Zulkarnain Arif, who shocked the Thais for the 2005 Manila Sea Games gold medal.